SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/11/2021 9:34 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-2 “The Response of Criticism”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matt.
11:16-19
Message of the verses: “16 “But to what
shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market
places, who call out to the other children, 17 and say, ‘We played the
flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ 18
“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ 19 “The
Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man
and a drunkard, a friend of tax-gatherers and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is
vindicated by her deeds.’”
We talked about the two different games that the
children played in the “square” of the towns while their parents were doing
their shopping in our last SD. Today we
want to begin with talking about how John’s message and way of life were in the
funeral mode, so to speak. The problem
was that some people became so resentful of his continual emphasis on the need
for repentance and also judgment that they charged him with having a demon as
seen in verse 18. MacArthur adds “He
grated against their immoral and unspiritual nerves, and they railed out
against him. They tolerated him for a
short while, enjoying the novelty and excitement of his preaching. But he would not let them be neutral
bystanders, uncommitted onlookers who heard and observed without decision or
commitment. When they saw they had to
choose, they chose not to believe or follow him. Instead of accepting John’s rebuke of their
wickedness, they rebuked his righteousness.
They charged the prophet who had no equal, who was greater than any
other person ‘born of woman’ (11:11), with being demon possessed.”
Now
we come to a section in verse 19 where Jesus applies the second illustration to
the response of the people to Himself: “19
“The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous
man and a drunkard, a friend of tax-gatherers and sinners!’” As we look at the life of Jesus in the
Gospels we can see that He lived basically in the normal pattern of Jewish
life, that is eating and drinking like everyone else, and this was in contrast
to John’s different kind of lifestyle, that is what he wore and what he
ate. We see that Jesus participated in
all the normal social activities, which certainly was not what John did. Jesus traveled throughout most of Israel, as
He went from city to city, village to village, synagogue to synagogue. He had individual, intimate contact with many
hundreds of people as He talked with them, and as He healed their diseases and
forgave their sins, and also as He called them to follow Him.
We
have mentioned that John lived in the funeral mode while Jesus lived in the
wedding mode, and this fact did not escape the notice of John’s disciples, who
had already asked Jesus “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do
not fast” as seen in Matthew 9:14. So in
reply Jesus used the figure of a wedding as He says “The attendants of the
bride groom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they?”
(9:15). But Jesus’ critics ridiculously exaggerated
His normal activities, charging Him with being a gluttonous man and a drunkard.
John MacArthur writes “The wine Jesus and most other
Jews drank was oinos, a drink made by
boiling or evaporating fresh grape juice down to a heavy syrup or paste in
order to prevent spoilage and simplify storage.
To make a beverage, water would be added as needed to a small quantity
of syrup. That mixture was nonalcoholic,
and even when allowed to ferment it was not intoxicating, because it was mostly
water. Perhaps Jesus miraculously made
wine from water for the wedding at Cana by creating the paste.”
In
our SD for tomorrow, Lord willing, we will begin by looking at the second
charge.
12/11/2021 10:00 AM
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